“They saw them loading them in their vehicle,” Blackwood told KPVI-TV. “They let their little dog out, next thing she knows a red van pulls up and she has to race out and retrieve it, an older person in the dark.”

One German shepherd was found with its head crushed with a stone and its body covered with a purple blanket in what authorities say was a “ritualistic execution.” Other dogs were found with their mouths duct-taped shut and their teeth filed off.

John Goodwin, head of animal cruelty policy for the Humane Society, told Reuters that these dogs were most likely not used for dog-fighting.

The Humane Society has offered a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the missing dogs.